A More Perfect Love
by BrknLight
Summary: Hogwarts wasn’t the same. Nothing would ever be the same again. Sirius had been gone for two months. The hole inside Harry hadn’t closed, hadn’t healed. He feared, and hoped, it never would." So begins this tale of love and death set in JK Rowling's wizar
1. Chapter One

This is my first real try at Fan Fiction. I hope you enjoy it and, please, be brutely honest in you reviews! BrknLight

**Chapter One**

Hogwarts wasn't the same. Nothing would ever be the same again. Sirius had been gone for two months. The hole inside Harry hadn't closed, hadn't healed. He feared, and hoped, it never would.

All summer, he had been obsessed with the veil – trying to find out what it was, what it contained, how to get there. He had even gone so far as to sneak back into the Department of Mysteries to look at the thing again. He had gone to Tonks and Kingsley to teach him an Appearance Changing Potion that was stronger and longer lasting than Polyjuice Potion and made to be more specific and flexible.

When he got to the corridor he had seen in his dreams all last year, he wasn't sure how he was going to open the door. But he didn't have to worry for long. As soon as he stood in front of it, the heavy piece of wood swung on its hinges to welcome him into the circular room. He tried the doors surrounding him until finding the one he wanted, marking them with a piece of ordinary Muggle tape. He made sure that the one back to the corridor was marked with an **X** in the same substance.

As he began to descend the large stone benches in the chamber that carried the veil, Harry heard the voices again. He thought he heard someone call his name ever so faintly. He hurried to the platform and walked around it once before stepping up next to the stone arch.

In his mind's eye he could see the duel between Sirius and his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry could see her pointing her wand at his godfather's chest, the curse spewing from the end of it. Sirius's eyes losing their laughter, their light, their life. His body flying back and into the veil. He fell through.

Harry had fallen to his knees. The memory was still too fresh. He wasn't able to stay on his feet as the pain hit him again and again. There was an awful, burning hole on his chest. He gasped for breath and wiped the tears from his brilliant green eyes.

Sirius was gone.

But Harry was going to bring him back.

He walked up to the arch, brushed his fingertips across the black fabric. An odd sensation took over his body. A feeling that he absolutely had to get to the other side, no matter what happened. He gathered some of the flimsy material in his fist and…

There were footsteps outside one of the doors. Harry spun around and dropped the fabric; the compulsion was gone. He hurriedly jumped from the platform and ran up the stone benches as best he could. He checked the doors for the **X** and hurried through it.

When he reached the questionable safety of the underground, Harry let himself breathe. He had almost done it; he had been right there! But he was stopped. He was always stopped. It was a little too similar to his dreams from last year…

He managed to get back in bed before Mrs. Weasley had come to wake him and Ron in the small room they shared at 12 Grimmauld Place. He hated that house. He couldn't stand being there when Sirius wasn't, but he was safe there and with his best friends. And he got some half formed news of how the war was going.

Luckily, the potion wore off before he took the covers off his face. His scare had come back. He hated that scar. He hated everything that it implied. He wished with all his heart he didn't have it.

Meal times at the Order's headquarters were hell. Everyone stepped around him ever so quietly, like he was doomed to snuff it at any given moment. Or, which is more likely, go on a killing spree that ended with his own life.

He had hoped that Hogwarts would be better. Harry could get lost there; be just another student doing normal student things, but he didn't have that kind of luck.

The first day on the train was worse than at the Black house. People whispered behind their hands wherever he went, worse that they ever had. And it was only getting worse. By the time September had gone and October had come, some students asked him outright what had happened at the Ministry of Magic. But they were stopped by one look from Ron or Hermione, both of who knew some dangerous curses, and both of whom had been joined at the hip since earlier that summer.

It was the first time Harry had smiled in a long time when he found them in the drawing room, _kissing_. Ginny had come in behind him, followed by Mrs. Weasley. All three of them gasped in surprise and the couple looked up guiltily. Mrs. Weasley had set Ginny and Harry to the task of keeping an eye on the two of them, making sure that all they did was kiss.

Everything seemed to come together for everyone else, too. Percy was talking to his family again, though it was a little strained. And Fudge had given up the Minister of Magic position, giving it to Dumbledore, but he had yet to accept it. Percy was filling in for the time being, to the dismay of Fred and George, whose joke shop was thriving and bringing in more money than they could have imagined in even their wildest dreams.

But nothing was right for Harry. Everything was pain. He had had enough of pain. And because he was being left alone more and more, especially once back at school, all he thought about was Sirius. The only things that did capture his attention were the N.E.W.T. level classes he was taking. The worst: Potions. He spent many long hours in the library, looking up obscure potions and their ingredients or writing essays that went on for many feet.

One chilly Friday night at the end of October, Harry was accosted by a burly seventh year Hufflepuff as he left the library.

"Harry," the boy had said from behind him. "Harry! Tell me how you did it. Tell me how you got away from You-Know-Who again."

"I really don't have time right now," Harry replied as he hurried down the deserted passage.

"Sure you do," the boy said stepping in front of him. "Come on, I want to know."

"He said 'no,'" a voice called from the recess between two windows.

Both boys looked into the deep shadows created by the moonlight, but saw no one.

"Who's there?" the bigger boy demanded.

"No one _you_ want to mess with," the voice said. Then a cloaked figure stepped into the moonlight, the hood hiding his face. "I would leave. Now."

"I'm not afraid of anyone." And, to Harry, it looked like there was no reason why he should be afraid. The older boy was huge, a beater for his house Quidditch team. But as the other person took off their hood, he began to tremble violently. Harry wasn't sure what to think.

"Nicole," the Hufflepuff whispered. Harry raised his eyebrows in confusion. A girl?

"Get out of here, Stevens," she said in that deadly quiet voice. He scampered.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, unsure of whether he should be frightened or amused by the actions of Stevens.

"Nicole," she replied in a slightly happier tone. "Nicole Fleming." She held a hand out to Harry. "I'm a fifth year Slytherin."

"I've never seen you before," he said taking her hand and shaking it.

"I'm not seen if I don't want to be," she said lapsing back into her darker voice. "But I want _you_ to see me, Harry. I can help you."

"With what?" he was starting to fell a little frightened and more than a little freaked out. Was this girl completely insane?

"With the pain," she said. "I can see your pain. It's a curse, well, gift, that I have. I can see the pain in others and either heal it or make it worse."

"You _see_ pain?"

"Among other things," she replied. "But you need special help. You are the only one that can defeat Voldemort and you can't do that if you're damaged. You're not well, Harry. You have this big red and black hole, like and open wound. Right here." And she touched his chest with her hand, right in the very spot that always hurt the most. But her hand was refreshing; it cooled the ache.

"You said his name," Harry whispered as he looked at her hand on his chest. "Voldemort's."

"I always have," she replied. He looked at her sharply.

"You're not from England, are you?" he asked.

"No," she said as she began to walk away. "The States." He watched for her to turn the corner, but she never did. She just kept walking, becoming shadow as she went.

"She just disappeared?" Ron asked Harry. "Into thin air?"

"Maybe she had an invisibility cloak," Hermione suggested.

"No," Harry said. "I told you. She blended into the shadows. It was almost like she _became_ shadow."

The three of them sat next to the Gryffindor common room. Ginny was also there, trying to fight her way through the large amounts of fifth year homework she had.

"I know Nicole," Ginny said as she pushed her finished essay aside. "She's in my year."

"Yeah, but she's a Slytherin," Ron protested. "Slytherins hate Gryffindors. They don't even talk to us except to make jokes."

"Not Nicole," Ginny said. "She's really strange."

"Like Luna Lovegood strange?" Ron asked.

"Oh, no," Ginny said. "She's not that kind of strange. Luna's weird but Nicole is…" she fumbled for a word.

"Dark," Harry finished for her quietly.

"Dark?" Hermione laughed. "She's in Slytherin for a reason, Harry. They're all awful people bent on making hell for the rest of us."

"No, not like that," he said. "I can't really explain it."

"Like a dark wizard?" Ron asked.

"Almost," Harry answered. "But not. She doesn't have that thirst for power that dark wizards do. She's highly determined and has a lot of hate but she cares, about something."

"And she wants to help you?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. She wants to help me 'become whole' so I can fight."

"She sounds mental," Ron declared. "I suggest you stay away from her, mate. She could be dangerous."

"Besides, you don't need any help," Hermione told him. "You're just fine, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Harry replied in a completely unconvincing tone.

"Nicole's American, isn't she?" Ginny asked.

"All the more reason to stay away," Ron said. "Americans are nutters. The whole lot of them."

Harry mutely agreed with him, but he wasn't so sure. Nicole could see the pain, knew where it hurt the most. And her touch _had_ helped, a little. She could help him. Maybe in more ways than one. Maybe they could figure out a way to get past the veil and find Sirius. Maybe she knew how to bring him back. Deep down, he realized that all this was just wishful thinking, but he hoped it so fiercely that he convinced himself it was true.

He decided he was going to accept her help. And he just wouldn't tell Ron or Hermione.

The next morning, Harry looked around the Great Hall for a sign of Nicole. At the Slytherin table, he saw Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, tormenting a first year. Just a little down from them was Pansy Parkinson giggling with her friends and at the very end of the table sat a girl all by herself. A book was propped up in front of her against a milk jug in a very Hermione-ish way. Nicole.

She looked up from her book and down the table to where Malfoy was being evil, as usual. Harry watched her stand up and walk over to them. Malfoy saw her coming and a look of abject fear replaced his usually smug expression. Harry smiled and nudged Ron.

"What?" he asked.

"Look at Malfoy," Harry said. Ron looked. "That's Nicole standing next to him."

Malfoy was now shaking and alone. The first year had run off and his faithful guards had fled in fear. Nicole was inches from Malfoy's face and whispering to him intensely. Ron laughed.

"What did I tell you, mate?" Ron said. "She's trouble. Even Malfoy's afraid of her."

"Stop bothering him, Ron," Hermione chided. "I'm sure he'll do the right thing this time."

"This time?" Harry asked. "What do you mean 'this time'?"

"You do tend to make rash decisions," she explained. "Remember last year?"

Harry looked at her as if he had been slapped. He was completely shocked. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, he stood up and walked out of the Great Hall.

"What did you do to him?" Nicole cried when she came over a few moments later, anger written all over her face.

"It's really none of your business," Hermione said stiffly.

"You hurt him and you feel bad about it," Nicole told her. "I can tell. Now, I am going to go talk to him and either you can keep your mouth shut about me helping him or I can shut it for you." Hermione and Ron sat there, stunned, not fully believing what they were hearing. "You two," she continued. "Are the worst best friends any person could ever have! Harry needs help and you not only don't realize it, but you make it worse!"

She swept from the room, leaving little ripples of anger in the air as she went. Hermione and Ron stared, mouths gapping like gutted fish.

"Who does she think she is?" Hermione sputtered. "She-she-I-"

"She is definitely something else," Ron said. "Harry's going to have a time of it, I can tell you that."


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"Harry!"

He turned halfway down the lawn to the lake at the sound of his name. It was Nicole.

"Not now, okay?" he said starting to walk again. "I just want to be alone."

"I know," she said now walking next to him. "But you need company."

"How do you know what I need and don't need?" Harry demanded. He stopped and looked at her. "How do you know anything about me at all? You don't know me and I don't know you."

"But I do know you Harry," she said calmly. "I know everything about you. I've been watching you ever since I found out who you are, what you can do."

"You've been watching me?" Harry cried. "Who are you?"

"I told you my name is Nicole Flem-"

"I know!" Harry interrupted. "I know your name but that doesn't ell me anything! The fact that you're Slytherin tells me more." He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry but this just isn't going to work. I'm going now and you can stay here."

"I know about Sirius," she said to his back. Harry stopped.

"What do you know about him?" he demanded still facing away from her.

"I know he was your godfather," she said. "And I know what happened in the Department of Mysteries."

"How?" he asked. "Are you a Legilimence?"

"No," Nicole said. Then she whispered in his ear, "I know Dumbledore."

Harry was completely shocked. Why would Dumbledore tell her about that? He was about to ask her but when he turned around, she was gone.

For the rest of the weekend, he was and heard nothing of Nicole. She wasn't in the Great Hall at mealtimes or in the library or anywhere on the grounds that Harry could see. It was a very quiet two days for him, especially since he wasn't speaking to Ron or Hermione.

Harry also stayed away from Hagrid's. He had taken the same quiet tones with him that the rest of the order had and Harry just couldn't stand that right now. What he really wanted was to talk to Dumbledore.

In Potions on Monday morning, Harry got his wish. A frightened first year came quivering into Snape's dungeon classroom.

"Why are you disturbing my class?" Snape asked.

"Professor Dumbledore sent me," he said tremblingly. "He wants to see Harry Potter in his office, sir."

"What have you done this time, Potter?" Snape sneered.

"Nothing, sir," Harry said as he packed up his bag.

"Likely story," Snape said with a wave of his hand. "I still expect an essay on Appearance Changing Potions from you next week."

"Yes, sir," Harry replied as he hurried out.

"The Headmaster asked me to give you this," the first year said, handing Harry a sealed piece of parchment.

"Did he say why he wanted to see me?"

"No, sorry," he said and ran up the stairs out of the dungeons.

Harry opened the note with a tap of his wand and read two words:

_Sugar Quills_

"Sugar Quills?" Harry whispered to himself as he climbed the main staircase. "What do sugar quills have to do with anything?" But by the time Harry had reached the stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office, he knew what those two words meant.

"Sugar Quills," he told the stone guardian and it jumped aside to reveal an archway and a winding stone staircase. Harry stepped on the first step and they stared moving up, taking him to Dumbledore's office door.

"Harry," Dumbledore said when Harry appeared in the doorway. "How good of you to come."

"Hello, Professor," Harry replied.

"Please, come sit down." Harry sat in a chair across from Dumbledore's own.

"Why did you want to see me, sir?" Harry asked.

"I was wondering how you and Nicole were getting along," the Headmaster answered.

"Yeah, about her," Harry said. "Who is she? I know her name and that she's American and all that but there is something else about her, something strange."

"Miss Fleming has been through just as traumatic life as you have, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. And her has a special gift that can help you."

"She said she can see pain," Harry said.

"Yes, she can. She can see what caused it and how to fix it or make it worse. It was the very thing her parents were famous for in the States."

"Was?"

"She's an orphan, Harry. Just like you."

"Ron and Hermione think she's dangerous."

"She is," Dumbledore said with a smile. "She's a very powerful witch, especially for one so young. She's a great deal like you. A great deal. You two can help each other. You both have a great part in the upcoming war. Just let her help you and you, in turn, can help her."

"With what?" Harry asked.

"You will find out. This is not something I can tell you." A bell rang in the corridor. "I believe that is the signal for lunch." Dumbledore stood up and the interview was over. "Go and eat, Harry, you're looking pale. And don't miss any more classes today."

Harry sat between Neville and Ginny at lunch, still not speaking to Ron and Hermione. He kept his head down and ate quickly while Dean and Seamus discussed the new Quidditch season.

He had just gotten to the point of joining in when Hedwig landed in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her as he untied a note tied to her leg. On it was written one sentence in an unfamiliar hand.

_Meet me in the North Tower at midnight._

"Whose it from?" Ginny asked, leaning over.

"The Dursley's," Harry said. "They want to know where I plan to stay for the holidays."

"Oh," Ginny said. "I didn't know they knew how to use owl post."

"My aunt does," Harry said. He picked up his bag. "I have to do an essay for Snape. I'm going to go get started on it."

"Okay, Harry," Ginny replied, surprised that he would actually do homework early. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, okay, bye." Harry left and Hedwig flew up out one of the windows of the Great Hall.

He hurried to the library and found an empty table in the back where no one else was. He opened the note and read it again, and again. He read it five times before he realized whom it was from. The dark, spidery writing couldn't be anyone else. Nicole.

At eleven-thirty that night, Harry found himself sneaking out of the common room under the protection of his invisibility cloak. He walked quickly and quietly through the castle until he reached the stairs to North Tower. There, he saw Nicole.

"Hello, Harry," she said startling him. He took off the cloak.

"How did you know it was me?" Harry asked her.

"I can see your pain, even through invisibility cloaks."

"Oh," he said. "Er – so why did you want me to meet you here?"

"To talk," she said. "But not here, up there." Nicole started up the stairs.

"Isn't there an astronomy class tonight?"

"Nope," Nicole replied. "I checked the master schedule. Besides, Dumbledore gave me this idea. I doubt we'll be disturbed."

Harry followed her up the stairs, her dark hair catching glimmers of light from the torches hung along the spiral staircase.

_She really is pretty,_ Harry thought._ Wait. Did I just think that?_ He shook his head. _No, I'm not doing that again. No more girls._

When they reached the chilly night air at the top of the stairs, Nicole turned to Harry. "The best way to start the healing process is by talking," she told him.

"That's why we're here?" Harry asked. "Just to talk? Nothing else?"

"Yes," Nicole answered. "I said that before. No spells or tricks are going to help you. Now, tell me about Sirius."

Harry turned away from her and leaned on the stone parapet, looking out to the Forbidden Forest. He still had a really hard time talking about his godfather, even to Ron and Hermione. Dumbledore and Lupin he had talked to some, but to Nicole? A total stranger?

"Harry," Nicole said as she put her hand on his shoulder. "I know this is hard, but it has to happen. Talk to me. I'll listen."

He turned his head and looked at her, really looked at her. Her pale face shone with light from the moon and her dark hair was swept off her shoulders. But her eyes captivated him. Within their blue depths resided a pain, a hurt not unlike his own. But there was also sympathy and understanding. Harry swallowed and decided to talk.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

Two weeks later as Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in Professor Bins' class, Ginny sneaked into the classroom. The ghost-teacher took no notice of her as she crept to Harry's side.

"What're doing here?" Ron hissed. "Why aren't you in class?"

"Harry," Ginny whispered urgently, ignoring Ron's question. "There's something wrong with Nicole."

"What?" Harry half cried. "What's wrong?"

"Are you _still_ talking to her?" Ron demanded. "I thought you said you were done with her!"

"And we agreed not to bother him about it," Hermione chided.

"I don't know what's wrong," Ginny said. "But she's asking for you."

"Where?" Harry asked as he packed his bag.

"She's in the hospital wing."

Harry followed Ginny out of History of Magic and to the corridor outside the hospital wing.

"I have to go back to class," she said. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, okay, bye," Harry replied distractedly. He hurried to the door just in time to see Dumbledore leaving.

"Ahh, there you are, Harry," the Headmaster said. "Miss Fleming has been asking for you."

"What's wrong with her, Professor?" Harry asked.

"A side affect of her gift, I'm afraid. Sometimes the pain around her overwhelms her, but she will be just fine. Some rest is all she needs."

"Why does she want to see me?"

"Why don't you ask her that?" Dumbledore left.

Harry walked into the wing and down the row of beds to the very end. Madam Pomfrey was standing over it. She moved and Nicole saw him.

"Harry," she said with a weak smile. The nurse turned around.

"You can stay for only a few minutes, Potter," she said. "Miss Fleming needs her rest." Then she bustled off to her office.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as her sat down on a chair next to the bed. They had become close friends since that night in North Tower and Harry was starting to have some strange feelings for her.

"I'm fine," Nicole said. "Just tired." But Harry didn't believe her. Her face was pale and her hands were trembling slightly.

"You don't look fine," Harry said and scooted his chair closer to her. "Is there anything I can do?"

Nicole smiled and shook her head. "I just needed to see you," she said. "You always make me feel better." Harry reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. She held his hand to her clammy cheek.

Harry's heart was pounding in his chest so hard he was sure Hagrid could hear it out in his cabin. The way he felt about Nicole was nothing like his crush on Cho had been. There was something different, something more to the way he felt with Nicole, but he couldn't describe it.

"Thank you, Harry," Nicole whispered as she closed her eyes. "Thank you." Harry held her hand as she fell asleep.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

The next few weeks went by in a haze of schoolwork and Quidditch practices. Flying was the only thing keeping him sane. When he was on a broomstick, Harry didn't have to worry about his classes or friends. Or about the way he felt about Nicole – something that had been plaguing him more and more the closer they got.

He was now spending all of his free time with her. Often, they would sit in the library doing homework, not talking, just being together. Harry enjoyed it immensely but found he had a harder time concentrating on his work. He was always glancing up to look across the table at Nicole. He loved watching her tuck her hair behind her ear as she bent her face closer to her work.

Ron and Hermione were worried. Harry was speaking to them less and less as he spent more and more time with the Slytherin girl.

"What if she's working for You-Know-Who?" Ron had asked Harry after he came into the common room from studying with Nicole.

"She's not, Ron," Harry told him for the hundredth time. "She hates Voldemort just as much as I do. She wants him destroyed."

"Or that's what she wants you to believe," Ron said. "She's a Slytherin, Harry."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Harry demanded. "Hasn't Dumbledore been trying to teach us unity? Hasn't he been promoting stronger friendships between houses?"

"Yeah, but it's Slytherin!" Ron cried.

"Maybe you should try getting to know her," Hermione said quietly. "Maybe we both should."

"You're agreeing with him?" Ron asked stunned.

"Yes," Hermione replied stubbornly. "We could at least give her a chance."

"Good," Harry said. "Because I invited her to come to Hogsmead with us tomorrow." He smiled at the look on Ron's face, a mixture of shock, disgust and horror. "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

The next morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione put on their cloaks and headed to the Entrance Hall with the rest of the school, third year and above, to visit Hogsmead for the last time before the holidays. Nicole was waiting for them at the bottom of the marble staircase and she smiled at the trio as they approached.

"Hello," she said cheerfully. "All ready to go?"

Harry smiled at her and whispered, "Be good" to Ron as they set off out of the grounds.

"So what is Christmas like in America?" Hermione asked.

"Very much like it is here," Nicole replied. "But there is always a lot of politics surrounding the naming of things. Everything is political there."

"Like I said," Ron declared. "Americans are nutters." Harry glared at him but Nicole laughed.

"I couldn't agree more," she said, and they walked on, Ron looking slightly bewildered.

After a couple of hours of last minute Christmas shopping, the four of them went to the Three Broomsticks to warm up with some butterbeer. Harry got the drinks and they all settled in a back corner of the busy pub.

They sat in silence for a while, just sipping and enjoying the warm atmosphere when Ron spoke without thinking.

"You're in Slytherin," he said pointedly to Nicole.

"Yes," she answered.

"What do you want with Harry?"

Hermione gasped and cried, "Ronald!" while Harry put his face in his hands and shook his head.

Nicole smiled.

"I was wondering when you would ask that," she said. Harry looked at her sharply.

"You were?" Ron asked.

"Well, I, for one, don't think it really matters," Harry said.

"Yes it does," Hermione said leaning over the table. "I would like to know why you so interest her."

"I want his body," Nicole told them with a completely straight face. Ron and Hermione sat in silence for a moment then started to laugh uproariously. Harry turned red.

"You're joking!" Ron exclaimed. "You want Harry for his body?" And he continued to laugh, clutching an ache in his side.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Nicole asked, still keeping herself from laughing although the corners of her mouth twitched.

"No, not at all," Hermione said as she struggled to stifle the giggles.

"I think I'm going to leave," Harry said getting up. Nicole grabbed his arm and pulled him back to his seat.

"They think I'm human now," she whispered in his ear. "Besides, you are cute." Harry flushed.

Walking back to the castle, Hermione pulled Ron back so that Harry and Nicole could walk alone.

"That was fun," Harry said.

"Actually," Nicole replied. "It really was. I had a good time, Harry. Thank you."

"Er – no problem," Harry stammered. Nicole reached out and took his hand, lacing her fingers with his. Harry looked down then at her. She was smiling. Harry smiled back.

"Oo, Potter's got a girlfriend," a sneering voice called from behind.

"Shut it, Malfoy," Ron said.

"What poor girl have you got devoted to your lost cause now?" Draco continued, ignoring Ron's comment. He was right behind them now, Crabbe and Goyle at their usual flanking positions.

Nicole turned around and looked at him. "Why, me." Draco stopped.

"You?" he hissed. "But your mum and dad were Dark Wizards! You can't like him!" Harry looked at Nicole, stunned. Ron and Hermione did too.

Nicole pulled out her wand. "Get out of here, Malfoy," she said in a deadly quiet voice as she looked at him in the eyes. "I'm warning you."

Harry dropped Nicole's hand as the trio laughed, cackling.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked.

"I didn't think it was important," she said looking at her feet.

"Yeah, well, it is." Harry walked off, not to the castle, but into the Forbidden Forest.

"Harry, wait!" Ron called after him but Hermione stopped him.

"No," she said shaking her head. "She's the only one that can talk to him now." They both looked at Nicole.

"I'll go," she agreed. "Don't worry if we're not back by dinner." And she turned, following Harry into the trees.

Nicole found Harry sitting under a tree next to the Whomping Willow. He was staring at its flailing branches as it tried, vainly, to reach him. But he was sitting just far enough away so that he was safe. As she drew level with him, he leaned his head against the trunk and closed his eyes.

"Harry–," Nicole whispered, but he stopped her.

"You're going to tell me that I need company when I don't want it," he said. "You're going to say you know exactly what I need to heal and then vanish again, aren't you?"

"No, Harry," Nicole said but stopped. For once, she didn't know what to say. His pain was going away, the hole was closing. Even though it would never heal completely, few pains do, it was becoming manageable. Harry really didn't need Nicole anymore.

But she needed him.

"Tell me," Harry said suddenly. "Tell me about them."

Nicole sighed and sat down next to him on the frozen forest floor. "Are you sure you want to know?" she asked. "My past hasn't been the happiest."

"Neither has mine," Harry answered. "I want to know, Nicole. Please tell me."

"Okay." She took a deep breath.

"My parents were Damien and Jezebelle Fleming, two of the most evil people alive. They held the American Wizarding community in complete terror for years. They knew people's weaknesses just by looking at them ands used those fears to terrorize them. Americans live on fear, all of them, but when they suddenly had to live those fears everyday, they didn't like it. Not at all.

"But Mom and Dad were getting bored, restless. They wanted to go global. We were living in Arizona at that time, I was just a baby, only a few months old so I don't remember anything. But my older sister, Danielle, remembers and told me all about it when I was old enough to understand. She said a man with a high, cold, cruel laugh came to our home one night.

"He proposed an alliance with my parents and wanted to work with them and get the whole world to fear his name. But they refused." She stopped and looked down at her hands. When she continued her voice was quiet. "He killed them, both. Danielle took me and ran. We hid in from that man and his followers. Eventually they gave up and went back to our house to live."

"How did you get here?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore," she said. "About the time I turned nine, my sister was killed by a witch that lived near us. She feared that Danielle was getting too close to what my parents were. I hid in the desert for quite a while but Dumbledore heard about what happened and came to find me, hoping I was still alive. He brought me to England and put me in a home with a good wizarding family. They tried to help me and still do. They're good people but I can't let go of my hate for the monster who destroyed my family; no matter how bad they were."

"Voldemort," Harry whispered.

"Yes. As soon as I got here, I knew it was him."

"Why did Dumbledore bring you here?"

"Because of my gift. You were damaged, Harry. He wanted me to fix you and help you."

"But I didn't know you until now," Harry said. "Why did he wait? Why did you wait?"

"I was afraid. I didn't want to use what I knew. I didn't want to become my parents."

"And you haven't," Harry said taking her hands in his. "You've helped me. With you, I can smile again." She looked up at him, tears glistening on her cheeks.

Sitting there, close to her, was all that Harry needed. He knew that as long as she was there, everything would be okay, no matter how bad it got. The setting sun streamed through the trees and a shaft of sun lit up her face from behind. He had never felt so full of love for someone before, except maybe Sirius. But this was a different love. A more perfect love.

He leaned over and touched his lips to hers.

For a second, Nicole pulled away, shocked. But she looked into his bright green eyes and saw something she had never seen before: love.

Nicole threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him fiercely. He kissed her back, putting his arms around her waist, not caring that this kiss was wet.

Later that night, Harry sat by the common room fire, a dazed and happy smile on his face. Ron and Hermione saw him as soon as they got back from dinner and hurried to his side.

"Harry?" Ron asked. "Why do you have that stupid grin on your face?"

Harry didn't answer, just smiled bigger.

"You didn't come to dinner, Harry," Hermione said carefully. "What happened?" He turned his head to look at her.

"Nicole and I were talking," he answered. "She told me about her family." He then proceeded to tell them all she had told him.

"So she is a dark witch!" Ron cried. "I knew it!"

"But she's not," Harry said. "Don't you see? She has made the choice to change. Dumbledore said that it's our choices that make us who we are, not our family."

"So why were you grinning?" Ron asked slyly a few moments later. Harry smiled again.

"You kissed her," Hermione said. "Didn't you?"

"I think I'm going to turn in now," Harry said standing up. "I'm kind of tired."

"What? No!" Ron cried. "I want to hear about this."

"You don't have to hear it, Ron," Harry said. "You can experience it." He looked pointedly at Hermione. She blushed.

"Harry," she chided.

"Good-night," Harry said and walked up the stairs to bed.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Harry! Harry!" a voice called into his dreams. "Oh, Harry wake up! Please! Wake up!"

He opened his eyes; a fuzzy, flesh colored blob with a fiery red blob on top was standing next to his bed. He fumbled for his glasses and hurriedly put them on.

"Ron?" Harry asked groggily. What's the matter?"

"It's Nicole." Harry sat straight up.

"What? What about her?"

"I don't know but she's outside the portrait hole." Harry got out of bed and put on his dressing gown, threw open the door and raced down the stairs. Hermione was standing in the portrait hole; Nicole was just out side.

"She won't come in," Hermione said as Harry ran past her and to Nicole's side.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. She didn't answer, just threw her arms around him and burst into tears. Harry held her close, not saying anything, just holding her and letting her cry.

Hermione and Ron went back into the common room and closed the portrait. The Fat Lady looked at Harry and Nicole with a concerned frown on her face.

"Tell me," Harry whispered. "Tell me what's wrong."

"He was there," she cried. "I saw him. He was looking at me with those red eyes." She shuddered and buried her face in his chest.

"Voldemort?" Harry asked. The Fat Lady shrieked.

"Him? Here?" she demanded.

"No," Harry told her. "It was just a dream." But Nicole looked up at him so sharply that he knew it wasn't. "Let's go talk to Dumbledore," he whispered.

Nicole clung to Harry the whole way there, still terrified that Voldemort might jump out at her from the shadows. There was nobody else in the hallways and Harry realized it must be very early in the morning, but it was also the start of the holidays, shouldn't people be boarding the Hogwarts Express? And what were Ron and Hermione doing up so late?

When they reached the stone guardian of Dumbledore's office, Harry muttered, "Sugar Quills" and they were let inside. Nicole hardly seemed to know where they were. She had her face buried in Harry's dressing gown and her hands were clutching his chest in a painful way; but he didn't seem to notice any of this. He was too busy trying to navigate her up the moving spiral staircase with his arm around her waist.

"Dumbledore," Harry called out when they reached the door. He opened it and found the headmaster at his desk. He stood with a worried frown on his face.

"What's wrong, Harry?" he asked crossing to them. He tried to unlatch Nicole from Harry's side but she shook her head and clutched him even harder.

"She said she saw Voldemort, Professor," Harry told the headmaster.

"Tom?" Dumbledore asked. "Where?"

"In her room, I think," Harry replied as he moved to a chair and tried to push Nicole into it, but she wouldn't let go. "She came to the portrait and somehow got Ron and Hermione's attention and the came and got me. But I couldn't get anything out of her. She's been like this."

Nicole gave out a sob and Harry held her close, trying to sooth her. Dumbledore conjured a bed in a corner of his office and helped Harry lay her down on it. Harry sat in a chair next to the cot as the headmaster put his hand on her forehead and she was able to calm down, although she still clung to Harry's arm.

"I've never seen her like this," Harry whispered as he put a hand on her face and moved hair away from her eyes. She closed them and started to breathe normally again. He looked up at Dumbledore.

"Stay here with her, Harry. I need to go alert the teachers and search the castle." He turned to leave. "I don't know if Tom's still here but he will not be here for long." Dumbledore swept from the room, his eyes flashing.

Fawkes, the headmaster's beautifully plumed Phoenix, flew to Harry, landing on his knee. He looked at Nicole and his piercing song filled the room, slipping into every worried crevasse if Harry's body and making him feel instantly better.

Nicole's eyes flew open and she sat up, startling Fawkes from his perch.

"I need to talk to my parents," she cried, looking at Harry.

"Nicole," Harry said. "What's going on?" She didn't answer, just got up from the bed and ran to the door. Harry jumped up and followed her. Before she could start down the stairs, he grabbed her arm.

"Let go, Harry," she said.

"No," he told her. "Dumbledore said to stay here. Voldemort might still be in the castle."

"But I have to go to London," she said. "I have to talk to my parents."

"Nicole, how could you talk to them?"

"The Veil, Harry."

"What?"

"Harry, listen to me. That veil is the door between our world and the otherworld: the world of the dead. If I can get there, I can call to them, it's an old spell my sister taught me."

"Wait," Harry interrupted. "Why do you need to talk to them?"

"They know Voldemort," she said. "They know how to damage him."

"Not defeat?"

"Only you can do that."

"How?"

"I don't know." She came back into the room and began to pace. "When does the train leave?" she asked.

"At eleven," Professor Dumbledore said from the doorway. "Do you really believe that your parents can help?"

"Yes, professor," Nicole answered. "I do."

"Then I'll have Tonks and Lupin meet you at King's Cross."

Harry looked at Dumbledore, his eyes wide. "You're letting her go?" he asked.

"Voldemort is no longer here. I believe that he was trying to keep Miss Fleming from talking to her parents."

"Then he knows," Nicole whispered.

"He suspects," Dumbledore corrected. "Now, you two should eat and pack some clothing. I believe there will be Christmas at Grimmauld Place again this year."

"Wait," Harry said as he followed Nicole to the door. "I'm going too?"

"You and Nicole are tied together in this, Harry," Dumbledore told him. "You will be pulling each other over the finish line this time."

Harry only had time for a hurried explanation to Ron and Hermione before he had to catch a carriage to Hogsmead station.

"I want to go to Grimmauld Place for Christmas," Ron complained.

"I think you are," Harry said closing his trunk. "Dumbledore said something about there being Christmas there again this year."

"It won't be the same without Sirius," Hermione said. Then she clapped her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"No, it's okay," Harry told her. "Really. It doesn't hurt as much to think about him as it used to."

"How come?" Ron asked.

"I've found someone else to love." And with that, he magiked his trunk to follow him and left.

Harry and Nicole shared a compartment together on the way to London. They didn't say anything; they didn't need to. Both were perfectly content to sit next to each other, Harry's arms around her shoulders. Eventually, Nicole fell asleep and Harry was left to his thoughts.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," he whispered to her. "You mean more to me than anyone. Especially more than Cho ever did."

The thought of Cho took him back to fourth year and everything that had happened, but in the wrong order; the Triwizard Tournament, the Yule Ball, the fights he had with Ron. He thought of Cedric Diggory and the final task; Cedric and him being transported to the graveyard by the trophy that was turned into a port key.

He again saw Voldemort rising from the cauldron, the Death Eaters forming a circle around him and him dueling with Voldemort. He saw the flash of green light and Cedric sprawled on the ground; Cedric dead. Then Cedric turned into Nicole. She was lying on the ground, her eyes wide with shock. And Voldemort was standing over her, laughing.

"No!" Harry cried. "No, not Nicole! Kill me, not her, please. Please not her."

"Harry!"

He sat up and opened his eyes. He was still on the train and Nicole was sitting next to him, looking worried.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "You were crying out in your sleep."

Harry didn't answer but gathered her in his arms and held her close. "I won't let him get you," he whispered. "He can't have you."

"Who?" Nicole asked. She pulled away from him. "What are you talking about?"

"I had a dream that Voldemort killed you," Harry said. "But I won't let him."

"Well that's good," Nicole replied, nestling back into his arms. "I wouldn't want to die. Not by him."

"But by someone else?" Harry asked.

"Shh," she answered, putting a finger on his lips. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." She kissed him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "At least not yet, anyways," she whispered to herself. Harry didn't hear her, which is what she intended.

Tonks and Lupin were waiting from them when they got off the train.

"Arthur'll take you to the Ministry late tonight," Lupin said after introductions. "I don't think you'll want to be disturbed at all."

"Thank you," Harry told him.

"Now, Molly has fixed up a wonderful meal," Tonks told them. "She and everyone else are waiting for you two at headquarters."

"Everyone else?" Harry asked. "Who's everyone?"

"Well," Lupin said. "They're having a little Order get together for the holidays. It's sort of a party. You know how Molly gets."

"We're coming too," a voice said from behind Harry. He spun around and saw Ron, Hermione and Ginny standing there.

"Why didn't you sit with us on the train?" Nicole asked.

"Well, you two were all snuggled up and cute," Ginny said. "We didn't want to disturb you. Besides, I had enough of snuggling sitting with these two." She jabbed a finger at Ron and Hermione, who were holding hands.

"That's really too bad," Nicole said as she put an arm around Harry. "We could have found someone for you and had one big snuggling party."

"Those are fun!" Tonks exclaimed. They all looked at her. "What? They are."

"That's enough of that," Lupin said. "Come on. We've got a car waiting for us. Percy did something right for once." Harry and Ron sniggered.

On the way there, Lupin handed Nicole a slip of parchment. "Read this and memorize it," he told her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The location of Order Headquarters," Harry said. "I guess this means you're a junior member now, just like the rest of us."

She grinned as she handed the paper back to Lupin, who set it a flame with his wand. "I've always wanted to be a part of the Order," she said.

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, Dumbledore used to tell me stories about it," Nicole replied.

"That's some bedtime story," Ginny said.

"Tell me about it," Nicole laughed. "My favorite story was about Harry, though. I guess I've always been drawn to him."

"Like a moth to the flame," Hermione said.

"Just make sure you don't get burned," Ron told her. Harry glared at him.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"Well," Ron answered. "According to Rita Skeeter, you are quite the little heart breaker." They all laughed.

"I really don't think I have anything to worry about," Nicole said, looking up at Harry. "He's stuck with me."

"And I have absolutely no problem with that," Harry said as he kissed her. They all "oo"ed and "aw"ed. Lupin pulled them apart.

"Molly would kill me if I let you two kiss," he said. "It's bad enough that we have to keep on eye on Ron and Hermione, too." He looked over at them. They both had a malicious glint in their eyes. "What?" he asked cautiously.

"On the count of three, Harry," Ron said. "Ready? One. Two. Three." With that, Ron grabbed Hermione and Harry grabbed Nicole, kissing them soundly. Lupin groaned. Ginny and Tonks giggled.

"That was a good one," Hermione said.

"I'm actually quite breathless," Nicole agreed. Tonks and Ginny laughed harder. Lupin put his face in his hands.


End file.
